Summary:It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lieIt has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane. (Warner Bros. Pictures)…Expand

A cinematic, cultural and personal triumph, The Dark Knight Rises is emotionally inspiring, aesthetically significant and critically important for America itself – as a mirror of both sober reflection and resilient hope.

The Dark Knight Rises may be a hammy, portentous affair but Nolan directs it with aplomb. He takes these cod-heroic, costumed elements and whisks them into a tale of heavy-metal fury, full of pain and toil, surging uphill, across the flyovers, in search of a climax.

While it's the most ambitious of the three films, it's not as mesmerizing as 2008's "The Dark Knight." The plot is occasionally murky, its archvillain lacks charismatic menace, and the last hour is belabored.

Chaos reigns for much of The Dark Knight Rises, often in big, beautiful, IMAX-size scenes that only Nolan could have conceived. Yet when the apocalyptic dust literally settles on this concluding chapter, the character who lingers longest in memory is an average Gotham City cop named John Blake, wonderfully played with human-scale clarity by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Halfheartedly, I give The Dark Knight Rises - the third and final Batflick in the Nolan trilogy - one star for eardrum-busting sound effects and glaucoma-inducing computerized images in blinding Imax, but talk about stretching things.

The Dark Knight Rises concludes Christopher Nolan's batman trilogy and is indeed one of the best superhero movies to be made in 2012. RivalingThe Dark Knight Rises concludes Christopher Nolan's batman trilogy and is indeed one of the best superhero movies to be made in 2012. Rivaling even the great Avengers movie, TDKR provides closure to a series that is rightfully deserves. Surely you will not be disappointed with the storyline, music, atmosphere and the way some of the characters from the first two were depicted. You will not regret the choice of watching this movie as this movie provides a similar storyline progression as Batman begins but provides the action sequences and structure of TDK.…Expand

Unlike The avengers, Batman uses real stunts and real emotion rather than digital effects and flashy lights and green screens. The behind theUnlike The avengers, Batman uses real stunts and real emotion rather than digital effects and flashy lights and green screens. The behind the scenes footage of the movie is mind-blowing, you can really tell they put a lot of hard work into this movie. It also helps that they wait 3-4 years between each movie to make sure they have a good story line.…Expand

The Dark Knight Rises was gloriously the best moment of my life in a movie theatre. It stands alone, peerless in the pantheon of superheroThe Dark Knight Rises was gloriously the best moment of my life in a movie theatre. It stands alone, peerless in the pantheon of superhero movies. There will be no spoilers here and if the impulse to spoil yourself before watching the film is too excruciating to bear, remember this, it'll be the equivalent of Selina Kyle robbing you blind. When Batman Begins came out, I was very sceptical about watching another one of those Batman flicks, such is the enduring traumatic impression Joel Schumacher's films left me. Thank goodness I did and from that point on there's no turning back. Christopher Nolan's finale made all the recently released superhero movies look like child's play to be honest, it is the appetizer to the main course that is the final chapter of The Dark Knight trilogy. The typical critique of Chris Nolan's movies is that it might be too cerebral for the casual moviegoer, no it's not. His films are universal, it's so well-layered, directed towards everyone. If you're more of the "intellectual genre" you'll notice the political undertones and social commentaries and what have you, but even if it goes over your head, it doesn't detract your experience from the film. Fanatic fans of the Batman comics will love all the little nods and references, even the major ones from the comic books thoughtfully implemented throughout the film.
Christian Bale is just magnificent, as he puts it he plays three characters, the billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne, the true persona of Bruce Wayne still grieving the lost of his parents and the Batman. He's the defining actor of The Dark Knight, his portrayal of all these characters are just perfect and even though he's a man dressing up at night as a bat beating criminals to a pulp with his bare hands, we empathise with him. Returning inhabitants of Gotham and Bruce's fundamental foundation of his lifestyle is Gary Oldman's aged and weary morally-strayed Commissioner Jim Gordon, the Q to Batman's James Bond, Lucius Fox and possibly a Best Supporting Actor nominee perhaps, the closest thing to a father figure Bruce can get, his moral compass, oozing with words of wisdom, Michael Caine's Alfred Pennyworth. Scenes between the trio are so poignant, beautifully crafted and presented, it's so hard to watch without getting a lump in your throat, to describe it as tear-jerking ia an understatement. One of the newcomers is Joseph Gordon-Levitt's solid portrayal of beat cop John Blake and Marion Cotillard's enviromentalist Miranda Tate. The chief antagonist is Tom Hardy's full time terrorist Bane, He's frightening to watch, Tom embodies and embraces the sheer brutality and monstrosity of "the mercenary" flawlessly with half his face covered up, the way he conveys his emotions with only his eyes is amazing. Anne Hathaway's morally ambiguous Selina Kyle is a wild card, it's really fun to watch the development and chemistry between Bruce/Selina and Batman/the cat burglar. The 2 hours and 44 minutes running time didn't feel long at all, the story flows seamlessly as it comes full circle with flashbacks from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, it's all beautifully balanced between the intimate moments of character development that's unusual in a summer blockbuster film and the really elaborate and simply put awesome all-out war action sequences and the choreography of the brawls between Batman and Bane is much improved than the previous films. The most important element of The Dark Knight Rises however and what makes it a gem is that it manages to amp up the suspense and anxiety to incredible heights knowing that every single character is dispensable including the Batman. When was the last time you watched a superhero film and feel a genuine concern that our hero is not going to come out alive? Exactly.
Thank you Christopher Nolan for not giving in to the public and I'm assuming studio demands to continue this magnificent 7-year journey we have all been through together, to truly end this great vision of the legend with integrity, to give this great story a great and true conclusion to let the Batman ride off into the sunset if you will. It was the ending this iconic character deserved. And to anyone who thinks the Rises in The Dark Knight Rises is just a convenient way to name the film, it makes complete sense, it…Expand

It was a pretty damn good movie, it had a very strong plot and story, the acting was very good, although I can imagine the actor who playedIt was a pretty damn good movie, it had a very strong plot and story, the acting was very good, although I can imagine the actor who played Bane was having fun walking around not saying anything. I can't help but say though, that 'The Dark Knight' was much better than the 3rd installment, without the Joker, no Batman film will ever be the same.…Expand

A brilliant ending to the trilogy. It's so refreshing and so worth the final result when a director chooses to use live action rather than CGIA brilliant ending to the trilogy. It's so refreshing and so worth the final result when a director chooses to use live action rather than CGI for all (well most) of the action scenes. The pacing was a lot better than The Dark Knight which I felt sometimes didn't really build well throughout and was unbalanced between action / character scenes. Though this time the bulk of the action is left towards the end with a great build up of character though the film which really leaves you actually caring about the characters at the end (unlike most CGI fest superhero films where you couldn't really care). Even though the plot resembles the first film a lot (which I suppose it connected to the "full-circle" talk of the whole series) the new characters kept the film interesting. The only downside for me was Bane. Don't get me wrong, Tom did a great job and he was a great character. He just wasn't really as much as a terrifying character than The Joker and we only really had his eyes and voice to go on as far as emotion went (the latter was a slight disappointment as I spent half the time trying to work out what he was saying). BUT...don't worry there is a great twist to make up for this ;-) Once again Gotham looks great as does the cinematography as a whole. Like the characters the place feels real and somewhere we should really care about and not just another city to destroy in another CGI fest bonanza at the end. I'm not 100% sure if it was the projector at the cinema (which I think it may have been) but my only gripe was some of the scenes seemed a little too dark to the point that I couldn't work out what was happening.

Overall a fantastic ending to a great trilogy. I appreciate films like Avengers for what they are, but for me, this approach to using live action and real characters just makes me care about the overall product a lot more.…Expand

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